‘G.I.Joe 1983’ Discussion By Mitchell Smith!
Welcome to the Outpost. Today I’m checking out the 1983 G.I.Joe vehicles as a whole. 1982 proved to be a success to the relaunch of the 12 inch G.I. Joe line and a huge part of the success was the vehicles. 1983 was a great year and they stuck with some traditional vehicles based of real military vehicles. The APC is the G.I.Joe transport. This is just one awesome vehicle and still is popular today. This is more of a concept vehicle but still has a strong military feel to it.
The Dragonfly was a staple helicopter and one of the all time best ever made. If you have ever seen a real AH-1 helicopter fly by these are wicked cool. When the Skystriker hit shelves this jet flew off of them. This is such an awesome jet and I want to say the F-14 was glorified by the movie Top Gun, but G.I.Joe popularized it with the Skystriker. The Wolverine is another staple vehicle throughout the franchise. Used mostly in the early eighties but this has remained one of the all time greatest vehicles.
The Polar Bear was one cool Snowmobile. It was also used extensively in the cartoon and this is a nice small vehicle to army build. The Twin Battle Gun was a trailer that could be placed in various locations to fend off the enemy. This is a cool little vehicle and probably gets over looked a lot because it is a trailer. The Falcon and Viper Gliders were a very simple design but these are one vehicle many collectors lack in their collections. These were used in the cartoon and if anyone has them both you are really lucky. The PAC/RAT vehicles are pretty cool. I have one of each and this was an introduction of using robots in place of people for battle. Obviously this would have put a damper on some great characters, but it may have led to the creation of the BAT. The G.I.Joe Headquarters was just awesome in 1983 and still holds up today.
The signature base throughout the prime years for G.I.Joe is just awesome to have and fun to set up dioramas with. This year was the start of Cobra vehicles. We got the Snake which was a cool little robot that a figure could fit into control. We also got the Fang which is one of the staple Cobra vehicles and this is a really great vehicle to army build. Last but not least we got one of the most beloved Cobra tanks the Hiss. Many people love this vehicle and the mold has been used countless times to create different styles but the mold is just one of the awesome creations from 1983. Over all 1983 was a very cool year for vehicles and so many from this year remain fan favorites even after the 37 years between now and their respective debut. Who loves 1983 as a whole? Sound off below and let us know AFTER THE JUMP! Make sure to check back with us for our next discussion.
